The North Vancouver Regional Ecumenical Support Team (REST) is a partnership of 10 churches and individuals who have come together to support the sponsorship of refugees. The group operates in close cooperation with the Anglican Diocese of New Westminster.

Sunday, February 28, 2016

Calling all Sponsors!

I am putting the word out about a possible sponsorship. Please spread the word and if you hear of anyone or any group who is interested in sponsoring a family, please put them in touch with me.

This is for Said's brother (Said is the father of "our" family), and his family. Here is the story, so far as I have heard it.

This family is very similar to Said and Honada's family. They have 3 children and are stuck in a terrible refugee camp in Lebanon. The father's name is Ahmad and the mother is Asmaa. Asmaa is a teacher and she speaks English! They have 3 children, aged roughly 11, 10 and 6 or 7. The youngest is a girl and the other two are boys. One of the boys has a mental handicap. I believe it is the same boy who recently became very ill. They tried to take him to the hospital and were not allowed in until they could pay the entrance fee. To do this, they sold all of their food stores. Once he was in the hospital, they found out that he had a ruptured appendix. He was in critical care for 2 weeks. He is now out of hospital but will take a long time to recover and may have some internal damage. Honada says he looks very bad in pictures with his eyes barely open. Ahmad, the father is a painter- I assume a house painter.

They are registered as refugees by the UNHCR and have sent me a photo of their registration document. Isn't technology amazing?

If you know of anyone who might like to consider sponsoring them or would like more information, please put them in touch with me. Otherwise, please keep them in your prayers.